Fire-retardant braided electronic rope with a hierarchical core-shell structure for fire rescue operations

Abstract

Effective rope rescue is crucial for evacuating individuals trapped in high-rise fires and for ensuring their safety in extreme fire environments. However, conventional fire rescue ropes often prioritize mechanical properties and flame retardancy, neglecting the crucial aspects of escape monitoring and position acquisition. Herein, we present a facile strategy to fabricate flame-retardant braided electronic rope (FBER) with a core-shell structure by large-scale braiding techniques. The pressure-sensing performance of the FBER was optimized by altering the braiding structure, which relies on the cross-contact between the core-braided composite yarns (CBCYs) at the sensing point. The unique structural design of FBER effectively prevents thermal transfer, ensuring pressure-sensing stability in extreme environments. Our results demonstrate that the FBER exhibits high sensitivity, rapid response, and excellent durability over 3500 cycles at 200 °C. The optimized FBER can be integrated into fire rescue detection systems for real-time escape monitoring, position acquisition, and safety detection during fire rescue operations. The scalable and multifunctional design of the FBER can significantly aid the development of fire rescue ropes.